Atlanta Falcons defense showed up when it needed to
By Joe Beasley
The Atlanta Falcons came out with a win against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night.
The Atlanta Falcons didn’t air it out against the Panthers defense. Matt Ryan only threw the ball 30 times and didn’t even throw for a touchdown but he did throw an interception. Calvin Ridley left the game early which left Julio as the only playmaker on the outside.
This Falcons offense scored just two touchdowns in their six red-zone trips. How did could they come out with a win?
Believe it or not, it was the Atlanta Falcons defense.
The weather in Carolina made the game pretty sloppy in terms of field conditions. Teddy Bridgewater had a perfect quarterback rating in the first half but nothing close to the in the second half. In the first half, the Panthers found some success and scored 14 points.
Atlanta Falcons kept their foot on the gas all night long on defense.
Coming into the Thursday night matchup, the Atlanta Falcons were giving up 410 yards along with 28 points per game. They were able to hold Carolina to just 304 yards and 17 points – both well below the Panthers season average of 362 yards and 23 points per game.
In the second half, the defense came up big and made some timely plays. They allowed just three points and if it weren’t for some dumb penalties, the Falcons could have very well shut the Panthers out.
Foye Oluokun balled out Thursday night. He made play after play when this defense needed it. Keanu Neal looks as if he’s returning to his old hard-hitting self in an important contract year and Grady Jarrett was disruptive as usual.
On the last drive of the game, the Atlanta Falcons did what they should have done against the Lions – kept the pressure on the quarterback and forced a game-ending turnover.
The offense can’t always be the reason the Atlanta Falcons come out with a win.
Next. Foye Oluokun is everything Duke Riley never was. dark
The defense stepped up when the offense wasn’t clicking like everyone would have hoped. While it’s only the second win of the year, Jeff Ulbrich‘s defense was able to show flashes of being good enough to help the Falcons get a win instead of being the reason that they blow another fourth-quarter lead.